he festive Diwali gather-ing hosted by MarylandGov. Larry Hogan at thegovernor’s mansion inAnnapolis was a celebra-tion on both a personal and apublic level.

Hogan marked the occasion
on Oct. 20 by thanking the
Indian-American community for
its contributions in various professional fields. Then he introduced Dr. Arun Bhandari to the
more than 100 guests.

Bhandari of Chesapeake
Oncology Hematology Associates
was part of the medical team two
years ago who helped Hogan
fight brain cancer — Stage 3 non-Hodgkin lymphoma — helping
achieve his recuperation and
remission.

Hogan, who was not expectedto survive, underwent nearly sixmonths of treatment, whichincluded intense chemotherapyand radiation. One of the firstthings he did upon completion ofhis treatment was to appointBhandari to the Maryland StateBoard of Physicians so that hecould be of service to allMarylanders, particularly cancerpatients.

Hogan, a Republican, alsointroduced Sam Malhotra, whohad been the first Indian-American to serve as a Cabinetofficial in Maryland. Malhotramore recently became Hogan’schief of staff. He credited a num-ber of Indian-American GOPactivists who served on his AsianAmerican Advisory Board andsaid their expertise was an assetin policy development for hisadministration in a range of areasincluding in technology, entre-preneurship and the sciences.

Pandit Pitamber Dutt Sharma,
head priest of the
Maryland Hindu
Temple, offered
the invocation and
recited shlokas
and mantras.

Hogan, joined by
Bhandari,
Malhotra and
Jasdip “Jesse”
Singh, chair of the
Governor’s South
Asian Affairs
Advisory Council,
lit the diya, and
Dutt presented
Hogan with a
shawl and wrapped it around his
shoulders. Hogan wore it
throughout the celebration.

Bhandari told the story of
Diwali — of how “demon King
Ravana” was vanquished and
how Diwali — is also embraced by
Sikhs, Buddhists and Jains.

The only legislator present atthe celebration was Democraticleader Kumar Barve, the first andlongest serving state lawmakerand chairman of the House ofDelegates’ Transportation andEnvironment Committee.Noting that Hogan is up forre-election inNovember 2018,Malhotra evoked thesymbolism of Diwali— light over darkness— urging guests toremember Hogan’ssurprise victory threeyears ago over hisDemocratic oppo-nent, eradicating“darkness of the pre-vious [Democratic]administration” andbringing light toMaryland. He urgedguests’ continuedsupport at the polls. Singh drewapplause as he suggested Hoganconsider a run for president.During the last presidentialcampaign and even after Trumpbecame GOP nominee, Hoganrefused to endorse him, even atthe urging of New Jersey Gov.Chris Christie.

T

Gov. Larry Hogan hosts 100 Indian-American guests at exec mansion

Republican Governor of Maryland Larry
Hogan lights the diya to observe the Hindu
festival of lights with his former Chief of
Staff Sam Malhotra , at his residence in
Annapolis, Oct. 20.

The event’s key organizer, Jay
Bhandari, a member of the
Virginia Democratic Party Central
Committee, described the gathering as a Diwali celebration banquet dinner “for the first time in
the history of Democrats in
Virginia,” and not a political
fundraiser. He said attendees
included Northam, currently the
lieutenant governor along with
other elected officials and candidates.

“It was a grand gala, a greatsuccess, and we also had lots ofentertainment, including classi-cal and Bollywood dance per-formances. First lady DorothyMcAuliffe was a special guest andbesides Dr. Northam, JustinFairfax, who is running for lieu-tenant governor and AttorneyGeneral Mark Herring who is run-ning for re-election, and manystate delegates and senatorsthere, interacting with the guestsand really enjoying the spirit ofDiwali with all of the decorationsand the entertainment and ofcourse, the wonderful Diwali din-ner.”Northam told the gatheringthat he believed the Virginiagubernatorial election would bethe bellwether for the U.S.

“People are watching us, whatdirection are we going to go in,”he said. “Don’t you think thereisn’t enough attention onVirginia?”Earlier in the day, former VicePresident Joe Biden was out root-ing for him and on Oct. 19, for-mer President Barack Obamaheadlined a campaign rally forNortham in Richmond.

Northam told attendees at thedinner “we are not going toaccept the clown show that weare seeing in Washington as thenew normal.”He said it disturbed him tohear Trump discuss eliminatinghealth care subsidies, putting 30million in the U.S. at risk of los-ing coverage. “We can’t do thatin the richest country in theworld. They don’t care about us,”he said. He said Trump and theGOP are trying to destroy theObama legacy, from health careto DACA and the tradition of wel-coming refugees and immigrants.

“Look at all these immigrants
that are here tonight, what they
contribute to our society, to our
community,” he said.

“That is why we need to wel-come people to Virginia. Wecan’t continue the fear monger-ing, the hatred and the bigotrythat is coming out ofWashington, D.C.”State Attorney General MarkHerring noted his suit against theTrump administration saying hehopes to halt such efforts to sab-otage Obamacare as denial ofcost-sharing reduction costs toinsurance companies whichallows them to offer insurance tothe indigent. He said Trump’srecent executive order denyingthese payments was an attemptto deny benefits to the poor.Herring also said that he wascommitted to combating hatecrimes and the racism Indian-Americans and other Asian-Americans are being subjectedto.“We don’t like what is hap-pening in Washington, D.C.,”said lieutenant governor hopefulJustin Fairfax. “We know thispresident is trying to take usdown a very dark political path.”Fairfax said the symbolism ofthe Diwali celebration was appro-priate in this context.“This is why we celebrateDiwali, the festival of lights, tolight our path in theCommonwealth, in the country,”he said. “This room looks likeAmerica to me. This room lookslike who we are when we are atour best. This is the greatestnation on earth because of ourdiversity and not despite of it.”He said he was optimisticabout the outcome on Nov. 7.“Virginia is the center of thepolitical universe,” he said.“What we do on November 7 isgoing to help turn the narrative,the story for the entire UnitedStates of America. It is a powerfulposition for us to be in.”

In Virginia, a Very ‘Democratic Diwali’

Indian-Americans turn out at holiday fest that doubles as campaign rally